State and Federal Marijuana Prosecution

State and Federal Marijuana Prosecution

Posted By
Robert Humphrey

As reported by W. Zachary Malinoswki in the November 1, 2010 edition of
the Providence Journal, a Tiverton man is finding out the hard way thatmore
isn't always better. In September, a Tiverton man was found growing one hundred and thirteen
(113) marijuana plants on his property. He was initially charged under
State Law and before Rhode Island State Courts. However, his case was
later transferred to Federal Court due to the sheer number of
marijuana plants.

According to Police, if a defendant is accused of growing ninety-nine (99)
marijuana plants or less, the case will typically remain in State Court.
This is advantageous because Rhode Island State law is more flexible than
Federal Law. Rhode Island does not have mandatory minimum penalties, Judges
are allowed to give defendants suspended sentences, defendants are eligible
for parole after 1/3 of their sentence is served and the State has a medical
marijuana law. However, once the magic number of one hundred (100) marijuana
plants is reached, Federal Prosecution often occurs. Under Federal Law,
the minimum mandatory sentence for such a crime is at least five (5) years
in prison. There is no option for a suspended sentence. In addition, the
Defendant must serve at least 85% of their prison term before they are
eligible for parole.

A Providence man has already learned this lesson. He was sentenced in U.S.
District Court in October and received five (5) years in prison. He was
found growing one hundred and twenty-five (125) marijuana plants.